Faint and Weary Toiled a Pilgrim

Helen Hunt Jackson 1830 (Amherst, Massachusetts) – 1885 (San Francisco)



'Faint and weary toiled a pilgrim,
Faint and weary of his load;
Sudden came a sweet bird winging
Glad and swift across his road.

''Blessed songster!' cried the pilgrim,
'Where is now the load I bore?
I forget it in thy singing;
Hearing thee, I faint no more,'

'While he spoke the bird went winging
Higher still, and soared away;
'Cruel songster!' cried the pilgrim,
'Cruel songster not to stay!'

'Was the songster cruel? Never!
High above some other road
Glad and swift he still was singing,
Lightening other pilgrims' load!'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

27 sec read
90

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCB ADCD CEAE XBCB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 518
Words 98
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Helen Hunt Jackson

Helen Maria Hunt Jackson, born Helen Fiske, was an American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the United States government. more…

All Helen Hunt Jackson poems | Helen Hunt Jackson Books

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